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Michael Howland Profile
Michael Howland

@MichaelFHowland

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Assistant Professor @MIT_CEE atmospheric flows, wind energy, optimization

Cambridge, MA
Joined December 2020
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
3 years
Our @NatureEnergyJnl paper demonstrates significant energy gain at a utility-scale wind farm by collective control based on a new predictive model. Collective control increases energy without cost for existing farms+enable higher energy density designs 1/9
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
Excited to be at @APSphysics DFD 2024 this year in Salt Lake City, come check out the talks from our group!
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@PhysRevFluids
Physical Review Fluids
1 year
PRFluids Editors' Suggestion: @MIT researchers Klemmer & Howland unveil new insights into wind turbine wakes! They reveal how atmospheric stability transforms momentum & turbulence dynamics, paving the way for smarter, more efficient wind energy solutions! https://t.co/3o30hHnTEg
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
🚨My lab at @MIT has multiple openings for fully funded PhD students! Topics include computational fluid dynamics, atmospheric flow, uncertainty quantification, renewable energy, and decarbonized power systems under climate change. App due Dec. 1st. https://t.co/xxEdqqrIFt
howlandlab.com
Openings We are always seeking motivated graduate students for PhD projects in renewable and efficient energy systems and environmental fluid mechanics. If you are interested in our group, please...
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@MIT_CEE
MIT CEE
1 year
Congrats to Prof. Michael Howland on receiving a 2025 Young Investigator Program award from the Office of Naval Research to support his project, “Closing the Loop on Joint Physics- and Data-Driven Modeling of Marine Boundary Layer Turbulence Above Waves.” https://t.co/QRaBnjiGe8
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
🚨Postdoc position available in the Howland Lab at @MIT! Our lab is seeking a Postdoc for a two-year project on "Multi-fidelity modeling and uncertainty quantification of wind power aerodynamics." Further information about the position: https://t.co/xxEdqqrIFt @MIT_CEE #energy
howlandlab.com
Openings We are always seeking motivated graduate students for PhD projects in renewable and efficient energy systems and environmental fluid mechanics. If you are interested in our group, please...
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
Honored to receive the ONR @USNavyResearch Young Investigator award and excited to work on our project "Closing the Loop on Joint Physics- and Data-Driven Modeling of Marine Boundary Layer Turbulence Above Waves" @MIT @MITEngineering @MIT_CEE #turbulence #MachineLearning #CFD #UQ
@USNavyResearch
Office of Naval Research (ONR)
1 year
Congratulations, 2025 #YIP awardees! 🎉 The ONR Young Investigator Program is a highly competitive program that attracts outstanding early-career academics in #STEM to propose innovative solutions to @USNavy + @USMC warfighter challenges. 📰: https://t.co/T1eVgmcE0E
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@MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
1 year
CEE engineers have developed the first physics-based model that accurately represents the airflow around rotors, even under extreme conditions. The model could improve the way turbine blades and wind farms are designed. https://t.co/R5FUJthvRu
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
Thanks to @NSF for the support!
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
The Unified Momentum Model lowers prediction error across yaw and thrust coefficient regimes by 60%, 83%, and 78% for the induction, streamwise wake velocity, and spanwise wake velocity, respectively, compared to classical one-dimensional momentum theory.
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
Often, when using momentum theory without empirical corrections in BEM modeling, the optimal control (pitch and tip-speed ratio) for a wind turbine is unidentifiable. The Unified Model enables the prediction of the optimal control without empirical corrections for the first time.
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
The model also results in a new first-principles prediction for the maximum efficiency of a wind turbine, replacing the widely-used Betz limit, in addition to providing the theoretical maximum efficiency of a turbine that is misaligned with the inflow (yaw/tilt/pitch).
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
The Unified Momentum Model generalizes and replaces classical 19th century momentum theory, and we leverage it for wind turbine rotor predictions in a blade element momentum (BEM) framework and also for wake modeling.
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
We return to the first-principles of rotor aerodynamics to derive a Unified Momentum Model to predict power production, forces, and wake dynamics of rotors under arbitrary inflow angles and thrust coefficients without empirical corrections for the first time.
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
Momentum theory forms the basis of wind power modeling from power to loads to wakes. But the theory breaks down outside of a very limited range of operation, which modern turbines are often beyond, necessitating empirical corrections that have widespread use.
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
Our new study develops a Unified Momentum Model to predict rotor aerodynamics across operating regimes, eliminating the longtime reliance on empirical corrections used in aerodynamic modeling. https://t.co/VUs0IB2j5m @MIT_CEE @MIT
Tweet card summary image
nature.com
Nature Communications - Models used to optimize wind power are still limited to rely on empiricism when existing theory fails. Here, authors develop a Unified Momentum Model to predict power,...
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
Our lab @MIT_CEE partnered with @VineyardWindUS for community outreach and education focused on the power and opportunities of offshore wind energy at the AHA! New Bedford event
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
1 year
Had a fantastic time at the @Stanford Center for Turbulence Research (CTR) Summer Program, working on our project “Multi-fidelity modeling and uncertainty quantification of heterogeneous roughness.” Thanks to our hosts and CTR for the support!
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
2 years
Wind turbines, especially offshore, are rapidly growing in hub-height and rotor diameter, increasing the impact of wind shear on wind power production. This motivates the urgent need to improve aerodynamic models of the impact of wind shear on power production, wakes, and loads.
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
2 years
The blade element representation has lowest error, but all models substantially underpredict the magnitude of the impact of wind shear on power production.
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@MichaelFHowland
Michael Howland
2 years
The standard power curve model does not account for the effects of wind shear. We evaluate the accuracy of models including the rotor equivalent wind speed model (IEC standard, correlation R=0.34) and a blade element model (correlation R=0.84).
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